Brother David's Belgian-style Double Ale - Anderson Valley Brewing Company

Muhly

Alberta (Canada)

3.8/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured 650 mL bomber into rounded beer glass.

A-Dark brown with red and amber highlights. Minimal head and head retention. Lacing is present, but dissipates pretty quickly.

S-Loads of sweet roasted malts. Maybe just a hint of banana.

T-Very malt forward with some cloves, raisins and pepper-like phenols.

M-Moderately heavy on the tongue with a good amount of carbonation.

O-a perfectly acceptable, but non-wow inducing dubbel. I think it's good value for the price if nothing else, but there are always more exciting, enticing options where belgian beers are concerned.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2013 04:20:00 | More by Muhly

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

650ml bomber poured into tulip 27/3/13

A clear reddish amber with a fair amount of bubbles but not much for head or lace just a short lived finger of tan foam

S brown sugar and brewers candy, some cola, spice I can't place, christmas cake, anise and a little booze, everything blends together quite well

T still pretty solid but not quite the harmony the nose had going for it, a little yeast and sweeter then the nose with slightly more booze, with some rum raisin

M medium bodied but it could use a few more bubbles, long nutty malty finish with just a little heat

O smells a highlight but nothing really sticks out good or bad, decent beer but no areas overly impressive

I doubt I'd buy another considering its 9$ for the bomber, one of those brews I don't feel ripped off but have no reason for a second

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2013 01:43:54 | More by wordemupg

Cyberkedi

Georgia

4.28/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Strong aroma has earthy, malty and caramel notes with a hint of hops. It pours a dark coppery brown with a thick and rather persistent light tan head that leaves minimal lacing. Scrumptious flavor has caramel, malty, nutty, earthy and subtle maple syrup notes - not too sweet, very slightly hoppy. Rich texture has plenty of tingle and fizz, smooth yet lively - very satisfying. An excellent party to Brother David’s Tripel.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2013 00:58:09 | More by Cyberkedi

joemcgrath27

Alberta (Canada)

3.84/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A - clear but very dark ruby, thumb of head dissipated to a thin cover with minor lacing
S - big fruit notes of grape and cherry, some brown sugar and warm bread, light spice
T - fruitiness is almost red wine like, a mineral quality along with some grains, some toffee maltiness, light sour and spice finish, definitely unique for a dubbel
M - somewhat heavy with relatively light carbonation, sticky with just a touch of alcohol dryness, a little too heavy for the style
O - it is definitely unique for the style in all aspects, very reminiscent of a rich red wine, definitely tasty but some minor deductions relative to the style

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2013 02:58:38 | More by joemcgrath27

Fatehunter

Oregon

3.83/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

One finger of head on a dark copper colored body.
The aroma is caramel, candy and bread.
The taste is moderately malty sweet and balanced nicely with an underlying bitterness. Plum and dense wheat bread too.
The texture is smooth with moderate carbonation and heavy body.
I like it. A solid dubbel style ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2013 02:41:46 | More by Fatehunter

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.63/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

650ml bottle. No discernible Bootling language lessons here. As for the Jesus allegories - that's another story...

This beer pours a clear, dark bronzed amber hue, with two fingers of tightly foamy, bubbly beige head, which leaves a solid painted wall of barely broken lace around the glass as it slowly ebbs away.

It smells of bready caramel malt, cinnamon and cloves, and herbal leafy hops. The taste is more lightly toasted biscuity caramel malt, a sugary toffee essence, some banana and plum esters, much attenuated Christmas spices, a slightly acrid yeastiness, and earthy, leafy hops. Very little in the way of booze warming lies evident this stage.

The bubbles are average, and generally supportive, the body a stolid medium weight, and mostly smooth, as a slowly rising heat provides a slightly unwelcome distraction. It finishes on the sweet side, but moderated well enough, the muted spice, neutered yeast, and stout earthy hops aiding and abetting.

A decent enough dubbel - the fruit and fervent malt, in accordance with some real deal Belgian yeast, render a pleasant warming tipple, especially as the 18-proof booze remains very well obfuscated (in the unusually positive sense of the word). Another bahl hornin' offering from this NoCal institution.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2012 03:47:42 | More by biboergosum

womencantsail

California

3.25/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Amber in color with a khaki colored head. Nose is really quite boozy. Some dark fruits, brown sugar, toffee, and mild spice. A little bit of banana and bubblegum, too. The flavor isn’t bad as far as the sugar and sweetness goes, good date, fig, and raisin fruit notes, mild banana, and a hint of spice. But the beer is just far too boozy to really be all that enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 20:23:23 | More by womencantsail

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Review from 5/2010 notes. Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a dark russet brown, almost a sherry color. Small, short lived light tan head with little lacing. Light aroma of sweet malt and dark fruit. Dark fruits and malt up front with a sherry like middle and dry malt finish. Finish is somewhat lacking. Not quite balanced. A pleasant dark Belgian ale, but not outstanding.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2012 19:05:24 | More by LiquidAmber

MoreThanWine

Massachusetts

3.65/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

It was pretty unremarkable, until drinking it. Poured a 1/8" almost taupe head which faded almost immediately. Hazy burnt umber brown body barely penetrated when held to the light. Smells OK but simply of malt. Then the tasting was a delightful surprise. Rich and malty like a strong bock, far more complex than the smell hints, and a nice smooth but substantial mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2012 08:57:18 | More by MoreThanWine

JoeAmerican77

Colorado

3.95/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appears a clear mohagony with a small finger of head.... Sweet belgian candy, sourdough and mollasses in the nose. Now I'm having this quite warm so the flavors are ecstatic and bold, huge yeast notes, some sweet dead grass, sugarcane, hermit cookies, and spice. The body yields a medium thickness, some heat from the alcohol, and a small bubble carbonation gives the ale a natural feel.

Overall much better than I expected, which is awesome! Also to note I had this puppy while it was in the 55f degree range so it really opened up. I suspect a lot of the lower reviews came from BA's who may have downed it at fridge temp.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2012 22:19:23 | More by JoeAmerican77

Kromes

Georgia

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Clear dark brown with ruby highlights and a thin, soapy tan colored head.

S: A somewhat banana, cherry aroma with alcohol and a touch of roasted malt.

T: The flavors are also a little bit banana and some cherry with a more robust brown sugar flavor than what is shown in the aroma. It is sweet, maybe too sweet. The alcohol is there but takes a background to the sweetness.

M: I would say that it is a little low on carbonation for a dubbel. Still has a decent body though.

O: It's a decent Belgian Style Dubbel. Some good flavors, but may be a little too sweet.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2012 17:39:01 | More by Kromes

cindyjeffsmith

Georgia

4/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: dark ruby brown. Medium sized of white head that recedes to a ring. Some messy lacing that slides down pretty quickly.
Smell: malty, yeasty. Dark fruits with a bit of spice and sour,
Taste: much as the nose predicts. Not deeply complex but a nice, tasty Dubbel.
Overall: My first Anderson Valley. Hope the rest are as good as this. Tripel or dipa up next.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2012 20:41:49 | More by cindyjeffsmith

elNopalero

Texas

4.1/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This pours a ruby amber color with nice clarity and low foam. Topped with tightly compacted bubbles. The aroma is reminiscent of bubblegum and malt, with some caramel notes.
The flavor has more bubblegum notes to it along with some nice caramel malts and a pleasing finish. It’s nicely rounded, sweet, without being cloyingly so. Enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2012 21:28:11 | More by elNopalero

FanofHefe

Illinois

3.43/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bomber with no freshness dating that I can find. Clear crimson body with a one-finger tan head. The head dissipates quickly, but leaves decent lacing.

The aroma overall is fairly weak, but reveals a few notes of caramel malt and a bit of dark fruit.

The flavor is a notch better than the aroma and features the aforementioned sweet malt, but the dark fruity notes take on a higher place on the scale. Minor flavors that appear include chocolate, grape, and toffee.

Medium consistency in the mouthfeel and a bit of an alcohol burn. Decent dubbel, not to the standards of a real Belgian, but tasty overall.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2012 22:45:05 | More by FanofHefe

July2Nov

Hawaii

3.03/5  rDev -16.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Had on tap @ Murphy's bar & grill, Honolulu, HI.

A: burgundy in color with a half inch of creamy foam resting on top.

S:Some malts but mostly non-existent.

T&M: bunch of dark fruit notes come out with some burnt wood flavored seeping out. Syrup like sweetness rolls in and then the hotness from the alcohol overtakes the whole beer experience. Bummer!!! The alcohol is way too much for this beer & takes away from this beer. Slight hop flavor at the end. The body is medium and a bit over carbonated.

Overall: disappointing, though I keep giving Anderson Valley a chance, I've never come across a beer from them that I really dug. Saddened this isn't better than what I expected.

Serving type: on-tap

02-07-2012 01:57:52 | More by July2Nov

hopfacebrew

Colorado

3.13/5  rDev -14%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Picked up a bomber of this at Lukas tonight. Price was right and it was a brewery I hadn't tried before.

Poured from bottle to NBB globe. The bottle was not dated, as far as I could discern.

A - The beer poured slightly darker than I was anticipating for whatever reason. It was basically a slightly murky but mostly clear brown color. Not much head, perhaps a 1/2 finger off-white head with almost no retention and disappointing lacing.

S - Interesting aroma. The alcohol was the strongest character. There is also a mild banana, clove, a honey-type sweetness, and apple fruitiness.

T - Just like the nose. The beer started with a sweet maltiness. The flavors of fruity banana and apple come next along with a hint of honey and clove. Not as much belgian yeast character I expected and rather thin. The beer finishes with a strong malt character, which I thought was over the top.

M - Thin. Lacking in carbonation and lighter end of medium bodied.

O - Not really what I was expecting and not sure I'd be back. Lacking in mouthfeel which really detracted from the beer.

Note: This review was a re-post from my former account, jmkratt, which was hacked and I lost all my reviews...sorry for the redundancy.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 03-25-2011 01:23:17

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2012 22:36:46 | More by hopfacebrew

dunit697

California

4.65/5  rDev +27.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I though this was an excellent beer. I was referred to drinking it by a classmate at a Beer class at Total Wine. I actually thought there was a plethora of flavor that came to the surface upon first drink. I did notice that this is one Belgian style ale that is better not sipped. If you are thinking about trying this one, get about one solid mouthful before you judge it.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 16:59:24 | More by dunit697

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

2.7/5  rDev -25.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Kind of a mahogany pour, almost no white head to speak of. Aroma was brown sugar and alcohol, maybe some plums and raisins behind the brown sugar.

Taste, whoa, bitter and lots of alcohol with tons of yeast esters and phenols. Arrgh, sorry this isn't my thing. A beer has to be more enjoyable than it is challenging, and this beer falls squarely into the latter category. Decent amount of caramel gets pretty much lost in the more dominant flavors (off?). Toffee and beyond its prime dark fruit continue.

This beer needs to be dried out, tamed down in some areas, ramped up in others. It started out ok, but devolved into a mess frankly. As the beer went on and on, I wondered if I was just noticing the alcohol more, or if I wasn't paying close enough attention to notice the approach of a fusel alcohol remnant aroma wise.

I dunno, love the American style Anderson Valley, so maybe I'm not the best source for a review of this beer, but I'll be avoiding this one for the near future.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2012 23:46:34 | More by Beerandraiderfan

beerbellydaddy

California

2.93/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

It pours sort of dark bronze with a foamy root beer head; it leaves only trace lacing.

Weakly scented sweet caramel.

It tastes of citrus and oak, and leaves a bit of alcohol sting.

It’s kind of fizzy, but not annoyingly so; it is also rather thin and dry.

This isn’t great, but is enjoyable enough, if one doesn’t mind its boozy bite.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2012 23:27:17 | More by beerbellydaddy

hiku7

California

3.4/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Brother David's Double won a medal at GABF this year so I picked up a bomber at Bev Mo.

Pours opaque deep brown with a small beige head. No lacing to speak of. Head barely revives with a swirl.

Smell alcohol and some vinous vinegar, plus carmelized sugar initially, followed by a spicy yellow raisin malt finish.

Flavor has a surprising dirt-earthy bitterness plus a peppery spicy phenolic finish. Phenols are a bit much and the alcohol is way too prevalent. Just too boozy.

Medium full body, though it goes down smoothly except for the strong alcohol presence, which screams "take your time."

Overall, I like the spicy kick but the 9% abv is too much for the style and the body and malt is not big enough to hide it. I reasonably enjoyed it but won't be going back soon.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2011 03:42:25 | More by hiku7

rarbring

Sweden

3.55/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A clear dark amber, an off-white head leaving little lacing but with good curtains.

The smell is mostly malty with honey and sweet raisins.

The taste is dark burnt toffee, grape-fruit peel.

Medium carbonation, a coarse feeling, rather big body.

Nothing wrong, but a bit unharmonized and simple.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2011 20:25:46 | More by rarbring

Naugros

New Jersey

3.7/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Not a lot of foam to this, but may dubbels suffer from this sort of dysfunction. Brown and murky in color, as fits the style.

RAISINS! Yep, all caps. Sorry. But that's the impression when you smell it. After the raisins get done smacking your olfactory organs around a little you can sense some cocoa and a touch of rum. The flavor is identical with less alcohol presence. Although it doesn't tinge the flavor, it does tickle the edges of inside of the mouth, letting you know it's there and to be careful.

A nice American version of this style, not the best...not even close...but still nice.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2011 01:33:15 | More by Naugros

tbeckett

Ontario (Canada)

3.08/5  rDev -15.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Bottle from Bear World in Watertown. From notes.

A - Poured a dark red, good carbonation, one finger of eggshell head. Bright. No lace, film of retention.

S - Dark fruit, lot's of sugar, very sweet.

T - Nice yeast character, a little spice, tons of brown sugar sweetness.

M - Nice carbonation, full body, sweet lingering finish.

O/D - Quite cloying. No a great Dubbel. Sweet and hard to finish, but not offensive, but too much of something I don't particularily like.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2011 13:23:06 | More by tbeckett

McD0uche

California

3.75/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured section of Brother David's bomber into a pint glass:

A: Pours a dark mocha color with visible bubbles. A small, cream-colored head appears and subsides pretty quickly. This stuff isn't too sticky; there isn't much lacing to speak of.

S: Smells good. Roasted, toasted malts and coffee notes make up the backbone. Subtle fruit notes linger towards the end. This is probably the defining feature of this beer.

T: Massively flavorful and complex. Quite large and boozy. This beer has a nice fruity flavor and a creamy aftertaste that is expected of this brewing company. Finishes bitter.

M: Oily, medium-bodied, and finishes fairly dry. Medium carbonation.

O: Overall, this isn't bad. I think if they pumped up the flavor a little bit with some caramel or coffee or something it would be a stellar beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2011 02:47:26 | More by McD0uche

kojevergas

California

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

1pt 9.6 flz oz brown glass bottle with standard pressure cap poured into a generic hefeweissbier glass in low altitude Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live.

A: Pours a three finger head of full thickness, good cream, and pretty decent retention. Colour is dark caramel brown. Generally appealing.

Sm: Yeast, caramel, some musty esters, heavy wood, and malt. Strange but not off-putting. Moderate in strength.

T: Hmm. Some chocolate and caramel are very nice on the climax, with a sort of christmas ale finish right after that - maybe the wood notes? Yeah: wood and light nut (hazel?) comprise the finish. It's also got a certain estery quality to the foundation. It sort of resembles a winter warmer, but with definite dubbel influences. It's got depth and complexity. It does manage to balance its wealth of flavours, but at the same time it's not particularly bold or unique. The alcohol comes through in the stomach, not the taste. I like it, strange though the build may be.

Mf: Smooth and wet, but rather thick. Suits the flavours.

Dr: The thickness and fullness of body slow down one's drinking pace, but the tradeoff is flavour. It's a flavourful luscious beer that I'm glad to have tried. The price could be better even here in California. I'd recommend this to any fan of the style (or to fans of Winter Warmers), but it's not exemplary.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2011 03:08:22 | More by kojevergas